Against All Odds
by urunimi
Summary: What if Rue hadn't been killed? Follow Rue, Thresh and the other tributes as they goes through the Hunger Games to face all the horrors that the games bring. But even with Thresh as an ally, will Rue be able to survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.**

* * *

Chapter 1:

Rue's POV

I run to light the third fire. The Careers will be here soon and I need to be on my way by then. Too late. Before I know it I am entangled in a net. I shriek. "Katniss!" I scream. "Katniss!" I thrash around in the net that I am entrapped in, looking wildly around for my captor.

"Rue!" I hear a faint voice in the distance. "Rue! Rue! I'm coming!"

I hear footsteps and out came Katniss. She grasps my hand.

"Katniss," I say again.

"Rue," she gasps. She pulls out her knife and begins to cut the net. "Rue where are they? Who did this?" She is angry now, I have never seen her like this.

"I-I don't know," I start shakily. "I was running to light the second fire and got stuck in this net."

She loads her bow and points it around the clearing as a warning. "We need to be on guard. Whoever put this here might still be closeby."

As if on cue, I see a head pop up behind the bushes next to Katniss. It rises and I recognize the boy from District 1. He has a spear in his hand. "Katniss! Behind you!" I shout frantically.

She has just enough time to whirl around and shoot the boy with her ready bow. I hear the cannon instantly. She looks terrified after, and I realize that this may be her first kill. I hope I never have to make one. "It's okay Katniss. It was only self-defence."

"But- He was my first kill," was all she managed to stammer out.

"Katniss." I say firmly. "He was trying to kill you. He was a bloodthirsty career. He wouldn't be regretting this if he killed you. She still doesn't look convinced. I sigh. "We better get safe for the night. It's getting-"

"Package!" Katniss says with delight, the District 1 boy forgotten.

The silver parachute drops on the ground and we rush over. Katniss opens the package to reveal a loaf of bread. I recognize this bread. It's from District 11. Much better than that tesserae stuff that we sometimes have. This bread was in a crescent shape made with dark ration grain and sprinkled with seeds. I sigh and look up to the night sky. Who would've put together enough money to give me this. It couldn't be one person alone. I close my eyes._ Mama, Papa, are you out there? Did you help? What about Sage? Jay? Violet? Willow? Or even little Ivy? Are you still looking after me?_

"Let's go, we don't want to get caught," I say, as Katniss picks up the bread and the parachute.

"I guess." Katniss looks up at the sky. "They'll be showing the dead tributes soon." She looks around and finds a sturdy tree. "Let's go."

I follow her up the tree and we settle on a branch high enough that we'll be safe from the Careers, but low enough that we won't have to worry about the branch breaking under our weight. She sets up our sleeping bag and wraps a rope around us to secure us.

The anthem plays and the seal appears. We finish the bread while watching. I see the boy from District 1. No more tributes dead. Another night when I live. I can't imagine what Mama must be thinking at home. And all my little siblings. Violet, my ten year old sister would be holding her breath. Eight-year old Willow would be watching the TV screen wide-eyed. They were still gullible enough to think I would survive. They all were. They wouldn't be able to bear the loss of their little girl. I thought of them, five year old Sage, and seven year old Jay, and little baby Ivy. My parents would be putting her to sleep now and she would be wondering why her big sister wasn't here to sing her to sleep.

"Rue, are you alright?" Katniss jerks me out of my daze. The concern on her face almost brings me to tears. Being the oldest, I never had anyone to look after me. Mama and Papa were too busy working and I had to help out even more. I sang baby Ivy to sleep, I comforted Willow when she had nightmares of being reaped. No one would look after me. But Katniss would.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say. But, I know that she knows that I'm not fine. She says nothing though, just leaves me off to drown in my thoughts until finally sleep overcomes me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.**

* * *

Chapter 2:

Rue's POV

_"Rue, come play with us!" Sage says lovingly. He still loves to play. He doesn't know the hardships of life, he's too young to. But whenever I see his pleading face, I give in and play with him. My whole family's with him now. We all love to play with him. Mama's there and Papa stands beside her. Willow and Violet are laughing at each other and enjoying the beautiful sight. Jay is next to Sage beckoning for me to join him. Even little Ivy is with them sitting on the ground with her eyes open wide._

_I walk toward them and they smile warmly at me. I can hear my mockingjay song echoing. "Mama, Papa, I'm here, I'll never leave you again!"_

_"We know you won't Rue," says Mama. Her touch is so warm and gentle. I want to stay here forever. And I do almost. I play with them for hours, braiding Willow and Violet's hair together, dancing Jay's worries away, and telling Sage stories. The stories he always loves to hear about brave people who fight for justice, the complete opposite of the capitol._

_"Rue, you have to leave." Mama says suddenly. "Now." She grabs my arm and drags me away._

_"No. I want to stay!" I whine._

_"You can't Rue. Rue. Rue. Rue. Rue."_

* * *

"Rue. Rue. Rue. Rue. RUE! Wake up!"

"What?!" I sit up wildly. I am on the forest floor, with Katniss hovering over me. What is she doing in District 11? Until I remember. I'm not at home in District 11. I am in the arena fighting to survive.

"I'm sorry. I just- you were shaking and screaming. Is everything alright?" Katniss's eyes are wide with fear.

"No, I'm fine. How long was I asleep?" I ask worriedly.

"A long time. It looks about noon right now. I left you in the tree to go hunting, but when I was back, you were twitching on the forest floor, screaming." She says.

My shock turns into anger. "Why didn't you wake me? I could've helped you. What if the Careers found me? What if the Careers found you?"

Katniss looks genuinely hurt. "I just didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful. Until I came back. I brought you these though." She holds up three grooslings.

"Apology accepted," I say as we begin to cook a groosling on a low fire. With all the sunlight, it will barely be visible. We have a satisfying lunch and save the last grooslings for dinner. We climb back into our tree and once again secure ourselves in the sleeping bag.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

"We wait," Katniss says simply.

"Where? And for what?" For the past ten days, I had been on the run, spying on other tributes, finding good food, covering up my tracks. Now it feels weird to just sit around and doing nothing.

"In this tree, and for night," Katniss hauls herself up on a low branch and I follow nervously. Once up there, I am restless. My head darts back and forth as if trying to spot a bug. I want to pace, but there is no room, and it's not safe on the branch.

After a few minutes, my head is spinning. I literally see twelve Katnisses. Once my vision returns to normal, my hiccups kick in.

"_Hiccup! Hiccup! Hiccup!_" I try to stiffle them, but hiccups are very hard to stop. I know from experience. Whenever I get nervous, or restless, or sad, or mad, or excited, or scared, I get the hiccups. And that happens _a lot_!

"Rue, keep it down, someone could hear us!" Katniss whisper-shouts.

"I can't- _hiccup_- stop- _hiccup_- them! They just keep- _hiccup_- coming!" I say, just to prove my point.

"Well," Katniss looks around desperately, "Try holding your breath."

I hold my breath for fifteen seconds, before another hiccup comes.

Katniss sighs and pulls out something from my bag. "Drink this," she holds out my water skin.

I chug it down and automatically feel better. "Thanks Katniss," I say.

"No problem," Katniss responds. "Why don't you take a nap. You need your beauty rest!" she teases, but as ridiculous as it sounds, I am tired, and I don't even try to protest.

She pulls out the sleeping bag from my pack, spreads it out, and I crawl into it. She secures a rope around me and before I know it, I am drifting off into a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

The playing of the anthem wakes me up, but this time we hear trumpets. That's odd. They're probably announcing something like a feast. But when we hear Claudius Templesmith's voice, he's not announcing a feast. "Congratulations to the seven of you who remain. There has been a rule change. Both tributes from the same district can win if they are the last two." He paused and repeated the news.

Me and Thresh can both win! Maybe I do have a chance. But wait, what about Katniss, surely she would want to find Peeta so they could win together. I would still rather be allies with Katniss than Thresh though...

At first Katniss is too shocked to say anything, then at last I speak. "Katniss. Are you okay?"

"We'll talk about it in the morning, okay Rue?" she says, her voice quavering.

"But-" I start.

"Goodnight," she cuts me off firmly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.**

* * *

Chapter 3:

Rue's POV

I wake up to the whistling of the mockingjays. The sun is just beginning to rise. It's such a beautiful sight. In District 11 I used to watch the sun rise. I never had anyone to watch it with though.

"Katniss," I say softly. She doesn't budge. "Katniss," I nudge her. "Katniss wake up."

"Prim! No don't go Prim! I volunteer!" Katniss mumbles in her sleep.

"Katniss! Wake up!" I say firmly.

Katniss shoots up so fast I thought she would fall out of the tree. She's panting hard like she had just been running from the Careers. She looks frantically around as if searching for an unknown attacker. "What who's here? Are we under attack? Should I-"

I cut her off by putting my hand over her mouth. "Shh!" I say. I know how to be the responsible one. I had to do that every minute of every day at home. "No one's here, but they will be if you keep yelling!"

"Sorry," Katniss apologizes.

"Come on!" I say. She unbuckles us from the tree and we get out. She wraps up the sleeping bag, puts it in my pack, then begins to climb down the tree.

"Are you alright?" I ask anxiously once we reach the bottom.

"Yeah fine," she answers.

"Are you alright enough to tell me what that was about last night?" I asked tentatively.

She stares at me for a moment then gives in. "Look if you want to got team up with Thresh, I totally understand."

She thinks I want to team up with Thresh? I guess that would increase my chances of winning, but I like Katniss. I don't want to leave her. I open my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"I got it, it's okay. I'll just go." She turns in the other direction without a backward glance.

"Wait, Katniss, come back!" I scream. I don't care who can hear me at this point. She starts to run and I rush after her. "Katniss! Wait!" But she doesn't wait. I run as fast as I can, but I know I can't catch her. I stumble to a stop in a clearing. It is empty except for the rustling of leaves.

Before I can react an arrow pierces a tree right behind me. There is only one person in this arena who has that deadly accuracy.

"Katniss!" I rush out to where the arrow came from, not caring that we weren't allies anymore.

"Rue!" She rushes out to meet me and hugs me tight. "Rue," she says softer. "We can't both win this thing." She squats down to my level. "But you and Thresh can."

"Katniss, what are you saying?" I asked, still confused. I wanted to be her ally not Thresh's.

"I'm saying goodbye Rue. There are only seven of us left. You know we can't be together. You have to go find Thresh. You have to win." Before I can speak, she pulls me into a tight embrace and whispers into my ear, so soft that if the cameras were on us (which they probably were) even the Capitol wouldn't hear, "Remember, you're not just a piece in their games." Then she releases me, wedges her arrow out of the tree, and waves farewell before disappearing back into the woods, leaving me lost and alone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.**

* * *

Chapter 4:

Thresh's POV

_Where would I go if I were Rue?_ I think to myself. I hadn't paid much attention to her in the bloodbath and I hadn't seen her since.

_To find Rue, you must be Rue,_ I hear a voice in my head.

_Where did that come from? Since when did I become a philosopher?_ I ask myself.

But soon, I realize my philosophical self is right. I have to think about Rue, her strengths and weaknesses. I know she's good at climbing, she climbs the tallest trees during work to tell us when work is over. Her sweet tune carried by the mockingjays signals the end of the day.

A memory stirs at the back of my head, about Rue's song.

_I sit in a sheltered spot of a grain field where I have made my camp. It's quiet, almost too quiet. Until a mockingjay arrives._

_It's a young mockingjay. It lift's it's tiny wings and lands on the ground, nipping the it, as if looking for imaginary crumbs._

_Soon it starts to whistle. The same tune over and over again. I almost consider squashing it, which I could do easily with my foot, but the tune seems familiar. I listen to it more closely and a picture forms in the back of my head. A little girl with thick dark hair and satiny brown skin, perched on a tree branch, whistling that tune._

_Who is that girl?_

_The mockingjay leaves, fleeing back into the forest as my foot almost squashes it, but the tune stays in my head._

I didn't know then, but I know now.

How could I have not recognized her?

The mockingjay.

The forest.

Rue.

I have to find her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.**

* * *

Chapter 5:

Thresh's POV

I run as fast as I can towards the forest. That's where Rue must be. The mockingjay came from there and so did the tune.

I brush through brambles and swivel around trees as silently as I can. Which isn't very quiet.

I hear movement in the distance despite all the racket I'm making. I travel toward whatever's making the noises and reach a clearing. I look around but spot no one. The rustling has stopped. They're probably hiding from me.

I take one last look around, and spot what looks like a necklace hanging from a branch. That's odd. I walk over to it and I see it is indeed a necklace, with a woven grass string and a wooden star on it.

Before I can take it down to get a better look at it, a figure darts out of the bushes and grabs the necklace. It then sprints away with curly dark brown hair flying behind it.

My mouth knows it before it reaches my brain. "Rue!" I shout and dash after her.

She stops and spins around. "Thresh?"

"Rue!" I say again, and run to her.

"Thresh," she says with glee, running towards me. Then she lowers her voice. "Be quiet! We don't need the careers coming for us."

"Let them come! You have me to protect you," I respond proudly.

A smile crosses her face. "Thanks Thresh."

"Your welcome Rue," Although I didn't smile, she could tell I meant it.

* * *

"So this is where you made your camp," Rue says, looking around the grain stalks that surround us in awe.

"Do you like it? Nobody attacks me in here. They know I have the advantage," I say, proud of my decision to stay here. "It also reminds me of home," I sigh. "I'd do anything to be back there."

"Me too," Rue stares longingly at the sky.

"Do you miss your family?" I ask, out of the blue. I know I do. My only family, my sister, Rose, and my grandmother, Hazel, I miss so much. They could probably last without me, but I'm sure they miss me too. I'd do anything to be back with them. A pang of longing shoots through me. Rue must've noticed because she puts her hand on my back to comfort me.

"Don't worry," she says sympathetically, "we'll both be home before you know it."

"I'm not so sure..." I say uncertainly. My pride from before has worn off and I'm back in reality. I had only thought of actually finding Rue before, not protecting her. It was hard enough protecting myself, what if I'm not able to do it.

"Of course we will! We have you! What could possibly go wrong?" Rue is certainly more sure of myself than me.

"I guess," I say.

"I know," Rue smiles.

I try to smile, but from the looks of Rue's face, it's more like a grimace.

"Whatever," I say. I search my mind for something to change the subject. I look up at the sky. "It's late, we should settle down before they show the dead tributes and it's too dark."

"I didn't hear any cannons," Rue tilts her head to the side, puzzled.

"Me neither, I guess there are no dead tributes today," I am somewhat relieved that no other innocent boys and girls have died today. "Here," I lead Rue over to a soft patch of ground. "You can sleep here."

"Oh, it's okay, I have a sleeping bag," Rue tells me.

"You do?" there is relief, not surprise in my voice. I don't want Rue to have to sleep on the ground.

"Yes Katniss gave it to me," there is sadness in her voice as she remembers her former ally. "She was a great friend."

"And I will be too. Now seriously, hurry up, the anthem will play any second," I nudge Rue as she opens her pack, smiles, and speeds up a bit.

"You can come in too if you want," Rue says from inside the sleeping bag.

"It's fine, I probably won't even fit," I tell her. I probably won't, but the real reason I don't want to go in, is that I don't even sleep. It's just a habit. I can't, I'm constantly on the watch for tributes and now that Rue is here, it's more important than ever that I protect them.

"I can get out," she starts to climb out of the sleeping bag.

"No, it's okay," I gently shove her back in. "You stay, I'll take first watch."

"If you insist," Rue says uncertainly.

"I insist," I plop down on the ground next to Rue as the anthem plays. Like we suspected no tributes died.

"Goodnight Thresh," Rue says sleepily. Her head pokes out of the sleeping bag and her eyes are drooping.

"Rue?" I ask urgently. I remember something that had popped into my head before. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, but make it quick," Rue says and a yawn follows.

"Why did you take that necklace? If I had been one of the Careers you could've been killed."

"It's my lucky charm. Mama made it for me herself," she smiles at the memory. "She told me that as long as I had it, I would win."

"And you're going to." Now I feel confident that we're going to win. I need to protect this little girl. I had only met her weeks ago, but now it seems like a lifetime.

"Goodnight Thresh," Rue barely gets this out before plopping her head down and falling asleep. I guess she had a long day.

"Goodnight Rue," I pat Rue on the head.

Like I always, I don't fall asleep. I just stare at the stars, swearing by them that I will protect Rue.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.**

* * *

Chapter 6:

Rue's POV

I wake up the next day and realize that Thresh didn't wake me up for the second watch. I find Thresh wide awake next to me, watching the sun go up. "Why didn't you wake me up? You stayed up all night?" I ask, stretching like a cat.

"Yeah," Thresh says, not turning around.

"Do you usually watch the sunrise?" I wonder.

"Yeah," Thresh still hasn't turned around. He is mesmerized by the beauty of the sun. I don't know how he even manages to look at the sun for that long. It is way too bright for me.

"Are you going to stop staring at the sun?" I am starting to get worried, if he stares too long at the sun, it could start to affect his eyes.

"Yeah," but he doesn't stop staring.

"Is all 'yeah' all you can say?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says, still not looking at me.

"Great, my partner's in a trance and I don't know how to wake him up!" I say to no one in particular.

I wait for a while, and luckily as soon as the sun is up, he stops staring. He turns to the sleeping bag. "Rue?" he asks, then he sees that I'm up. "Oh you're already up. Wait, how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough. Why were you staring at the sun? It's very bright. It could hurt your eyes," I say sympathetically.

"Well, it's this thing that me and my family did. We would stare at the sun until it came up. I guess doing it here made me feel less alone," Thresh shrugged, but I could see the longing look in his eyes.

"Well, what are we going to do today?" I ask, changing the subject.

"I was thinking we could organize our weapons and supplies for if we get separated," Thresh says brightly.

I think he senses my sadness as he says that. That's what me and Katniss did. For all I know, she's dead and a cannon fired in the morning while I was asleep. Panic shoots through me.

"Rue, what's wrong?" Thresh says with urgency.

"Did you hear a cannon fire?" I ask shakily, fearing for the answer.

"No. Why?" I sigh with relief as he answers.

"Just wondering," I say as casually as I can manage.

I peer over at him. He brings out a curved sword, a large water container, and a blue backpack. Inside the backpack, he pulls out a plastic board with straps that looks like a shield, some iodine, more water, some crackers, a compass, and some wheat. He lays them out one by one on the ground.

I walk over to my pack and peak in. With my sleeping bag out it seems emptier. My extra socks that I don't use anymore. A knife and a first aid kit Katniss gave me from the District 1 boy's backpack. Nuts and berries scattered around. My water skin and a bottle of iodine. Some leftover rabbit Katniss gave to me. My slingshot. I spread the contents out on the ground next to his.

"How did you get the meat?" Thresh asks in amazement. "I don't suppose you used your slingshot."

I smile a little. "No. Katniss gave it to me."

"Well thank her for a great meal. We should eat it now, before it goes bad."

I nod and we both split the rabbit. I put in some of the berries we eat back home and we have a satisfying breakfast.

"Well," I say after we finish. "We better split this stuff up."

He nods and we begin. I end up with my sleeping bag, the compass, the shield, the crackers, some berries, the first aid kit, the large water container, (which Thresh insists I have because according to him, he's a camel) my iodine, and my slingshot. Thresh takes the rest. I insist on him having all the weapons except my slingshot because I can barely manage them. He makes me take the shield for protection. As if I can't take care of myself.

"Well, now what do we do?" I ask.

"We wait," Thresh says, sitting down.

I shudder as Thresh speaks the words Katniss said not long ago. "Déjà-vuey."

"Why?"

"Tell you later. What are we waiting for?"

"Anything. An attack, a cannon, night to fall. Plus, what else can we do?"

"Well, I would kinda rather do something than nothing. When I do nothing I get the hiccups."

Thresh shakes his head. "You are a strange little girl Rue." I think this is the first time I have seen him smile.

I just shrug, smiling with him.

"So instead of doing nothing, you want to talk?" He suggests.

"About what?"

"Life."

"Okay."

So instead of doing nothing, we spend the day talking about our life. It's weird how we've never actually met each other before. When you live in District 11, you know almost everyone. And I don't hiccup at all. It seems to have cured my boredom, laughing with Thresh, talking about our not so great, but not so bad life.

It almost feels like I'm with Katniss again.

* * *

The anthem interrupts a rather long conversation about grooslings. We look up and I sigh with relief when I see no tributes in the sky. I still wasn't positive that I didn't hear a cannon.

"Alright Thresh, tonight, _I'm_ taking first watch," I say, still mad that he didn't wake me. He needs his sleep.

"Rue, seriously, it's alright," Thresh protests.

"You didn't wake me up last night. So this is your punishment. I told you-"

Trumpets. Trumpets interrupt my sentence. Claudius Templesmith is announcing a feast. But there is more. "Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately."

I stop cold in my tracks. What about us. Is there some mutt that's going to come out and _make_ us need something desperately?

"Each of you will find that something in a backpack marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance," Claudius warns and I feel a chill go down my spine. _Last chance._


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.**

* * *

Chapter 7:

Thresh's POV

I stare at Rue and she stares at me. Her face mirrors mine, shocked and confused. _Should we go?_ I don't think so. I couldn't bear for Rue to get hurt.

"So," she says, her voice quavering. "Are we going or not?" She shuts her eyes and crosses her fingers.

I watch her. She looks so vulnerable, so small, any tribute could easily kill her. In fact, if we go to this feast, that's what might happen. We don't even need anything and I can't let anything happen to this poor little girl. "No. No Rue, I don't think we should go."

She opens her eyes and throws her arms around me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squeals.

"You're very welcome," I smile warmly. Her happiness tells me I have made the right decision. "Who do you think is going to the feast?"

"District 2 probably. They are careers, so they're probably sure that they'll be alright. Maybe the girl from 5. I haven't seen her at all, but if she's made it this far, I'm sure she has some sort of strategy planned. And Katniss... I don't know what she could need, but if it something for Peeta, she'll go for it. So that's pretty much everyone. Except us."

"Claudius Templesmith said that the packages contained something everyone desperately needed. But, we don't need something. Is there something that we don't know about happening to us?" I ask. Maybe she has an idea of what we might need.

"I don't have a clue. At first, I was scared that a mutt would come out and maul one of us, so we'd have to go to the feast for some sort of medicine or something. But that didn't happen... yet," She shudders at the last part, looking around for danger.

"We'll have to keep an eye out," I agree.

"Why don't we have dinner?" Rue asks. She goes over to her pack and brings out some berries.

"I'll get some more wheat," I say. "Stay safe." To be honest, I think the little wheat we have is enough, but I want to be alone for a little while.

I head north, clearing a path through the wheat to my favorite spot in the wheat field. The wheat here grows more abundantly and I can hear the stalks rustling in the breeze. I take a deep breath and absorb the scenery, the tall wheat stalks surrounding me, the night sky above, the wheat swaying back and forth in rhythm. I grab as much as I can hold and head back to our camp, slowly, savoring every moment.

I come back to camp to find Rue, with her arms folded across her chest, staring at me. "What took you so long?"

"Why does it matter?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"I was worried," she says. "I mean, we were just talking about keeping an eye out. I thought you'd be back as soon as you can," she pauses, then, "I didn't mean to upset you.

"No, it's okay," I say.

We wait there, staring at each other for a while, when I break the silence. "I got some wheat," I say, opening my clenched palms.

"We'll have a feast tonight," Rue jokes.

Soon after we finish our meal, Rue yawns, her eyelids drooping. "Go to sleep," I tell her.

Rue smiles, then shakes her head wildly. "No. Tonight I'll watch. You didn't wake me up last night, I won't wake you up tonight." She is wide awake now.

"Rue, look, I have a confession to make," it won't do her any good to stay up when I'll be up anyways. "I don't sleep. I don't know why, or how, but I don't sleep. So please, let me take watch. I will be up anyways, you shouldn't have to also."

Rue stares at me for a moment then opens her mouth to speak. "Fine." Wow. I was expecting a rush of questions, but she had accepted it at once.

"Good. Now go to sleep," I say again. This time she gets her sleeping bag and curls up without question, her head, facing the stars.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," she whispers

"Yeah," I say, nodding.

They are beautiful. Like my wheat patch. Like District 11. Like my family. Like her family. Like our friendship. It truly is beautiful.

Beautiful enough to be worth dying for.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games**

* * *

Chapter 8:

Prim's POV

_Trouble._ I wipe hot tears from my face. That's the first thing I thought when Katniss decided to go to the feast. Mother is staring at the screen in disbelief, watching her daughter's dead body being lifted up into a helicopter. I bite back a sob.

I run out the door. Right now, I just need to be alone. I stop right outside the fence where Gale is waiting for me. I run to me and he holds out his arms. I return his embrace and then my sobs burst out. I can see that he is holding back tears too.

"It's okay Prim, everything's going to be okay," he says, his voice quavering.

"It should've been me," I say through sobs. "She should've never volunteered, then she would be safe now. It should've been me!" I am practically shouting now, but I don't care.

"Remember, she still loves you, even in her last moments, she remembered you," Gale soothes.

I do remember, Katniss did love me.

_I see Katniss on the screen, watching the District 5 girl grab her pack. I can see a look of envy on her face. She has her eyes set on the backpack and appears to be calculating something in her head._

_Then, wasting no time, she dashes out to get the tiny District 12 pack, at the same time as the District 2 girl, Clove. A smile crosses her face, she grabs and knife from her jacket and hurls it at Katniss. Katniss hears it coming and raises her bow up to defend herself. She notches and arrow and releases it at the other girl. She dodges, but it hits her left arm._

_As Clove pulls out the arrow to see the wound, Katniss sprints up to the table, grabs the pack and starts running off, right before an arrow catches her above her right eyebrow. She already has an arrow ready and shoots it toward Clove, but it misses her by a mile._

_Then before I know it, Clove has her pinned down. "Where's your boyfriend, District Twelve? Still hanging on?" she asks._

_"He's out there now," _Out there?_ I think. _He's stuck in a cave half dead._ "Hunting Cato," Katniss continues. She takes a deep breath and screams, "Peeta!"_

_Clove punches her fist down Katniss's windpipe, stopping her scream. She looks alert, her head darting back and forth, unsure if Katniss is telling the truth or not. But Peeta does not come, and Clove turns back to Katniss._

_"Liar," Clove grins. "He's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him. You've probably got hims strapped up i some tree while you try to keep his heart going. What's in the pretty little backpack? That medicine for Lover Boy? too bad he'll never get it," she opens her jacket, revealing an assortment of knives. She choses a silver knife with a curved, glinting, blade. "I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show."_

_Katniss squirms under Clove's weight. "Forget it District Twelve," she scoffs. "We're going to kill you. First you, then I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?" Clove asks, not caring her answer. "Now, where to start?" She uses her jacket to wipe the blood from Katniss's face._

_Clove studies her face, then speaks at last. "I think..." she smiles evilly, "I think we'll start with your mouth."_

_Katniss's eyes fill with horror and she clamps her teeth together. Clove traces the outline of her lips, carelessly._

_I know if this was me, I would've been screaming, but Katniss refuses to. She stares at Clove defiantly and her gaze doesn't waver._

_"Yes I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?" she asks. I can see Katniss's cheeks puff out and she spits blood and saliva into Clove's face. Clove goes bright red. "All right then. Let's get started."_

_I try not to scream as Clove uses the tip of her curved blade to cut my sister's lips. I close my eyes and hear muffled screaming. When I finally dare to peak again, I see Katniss with blood dripping from her lips, her forehead, her cut from before had opened up, and from a new gash in her stomach. Clove stands up, satisfied with her work. She takes her knife up again and stares and Katniss, drowning in a growing puddle of blood._

_"Any last words, Fire Girl?" Clove asks._

_"Prim," Katniss chokes out. "Prim. I-I love you. And I always will." She barely manages to say._

_"I love you too Katniss," I whisper._

_"Aw, saying goodbye to your sister are you? Goodbye Prim," Clove taunts, sticking out her tongue. She brushes the knife on Katniss's neck, not cutting her, yet. "I think we've had a good show, what about you Cato?"_

_It's then that I realize the brutal District 2 boy behind Clove, watching the life bleed out of Katniss._

_He smiles sadistically, "Allow me," he takes the knife from Clove. I close my eyes tightly and plug my ears._

_But that doesn't stop me from hearing the cannon._

* * *

**So, this maybe my last update until school starts. I'm going back on Thursday. I won't be able to update as much, but I'll go as fast as I can.**


End file.
